Charity Empressa by Charity Empressa (Review)

It seems like the name Eric Campuzano has always been affiliated with great music. He was a founding member of the Prayer Chain, arguably one of the most important “Christian” alternative bands. He played in Starflyer 59, whose status is generally without question. And he’s also played in the vastly underrated Lassie Foundation. Charity Empressa is just one more name to add to that already impressive resume. And with it, he may just have a project that outshines nearly everything else he’s done.

Taking his cues from bands like Spiritualized, as well as the legendary vocalist Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn, Campuzano delves heavily into the world of drone. The first four tracks of Charity Empressa are extensive studies into the beauty of building a song around just a handful of notes, setting it in motion, and seeing where it goes from there. Campuzano and his cohorts are content to leave the pace glacial, slowly layering sparse keyboard melodies, blurry guitars, and tribal percussion. Before long, it becomes a wonder that your speakers don’t explode from the sheer volume of sound they’re creating.

But compared with the near-meditative nature of the tracks before it, the opening moments of “Give ‘Em Hell” seem creepy and almost violent. A massive rumbling noise, like guitar pickups being ground to dust erupts from the speakers, while various odd percussive noises, crashes, and tribal chanting vie for dominance. Eventually, these elements fade away and again, we’re left with more beautiful material, as a tambourine and light beats filter through the dense canopy of noise.

The tablas and mirage-like waves of guitar on “May the Good Lord Find You” conjure up minarets bleached white by the desert sun, the female vocals taking the form of wavering Saharan prayers. The exotic imagery makes it one of the album’s most beguiling tracks. And describing “Shake Your Money Maker” as a cross between Spiritualized and O Brother, Where Art Thou? does sound silly onscreen. But actually listening to it, you’d be surprised at how well the combination works. With “Stay Gold,” it’s back to the desert. But this time, with the help of a sparse slide guitar, we’re set smack dab in the middle the American southwest in all of its sun-blasted glory.

Describing the Charity Empressa’s music as “drone” seems like a misnomer when actually listening to it. For most people, “drone” implies music that’s fairly boring and static. Oh sure, it’s minimal and spacey and dreamy and, well, droney. But that doesn’t come close to describing how lush and full it sounds. For a genre that’s often defeated by its own structural limitations, Charity Empressa’s “drone” music makes for a beautiful and consistently rewarding listen.